Method of manufacturing tufts and article derived therefrom



T. A. BDWERS. METHOD OF MANUFACTURING T UFTS AND ARTICLE DERIVEDTHEREFROM.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 13. 1920.

1,39 1 59, Patented Nov. 8,1921.

F25 FE-E- 5 WITNESSES 26 u will UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS A. BOWERS, 0F BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

PatentedNov. 8, 192;.

Application filed. November 13, 1920. Serial No. 423,921.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS A. Bownns, a citizen of the United States,and resident of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State ofMassachusetts, have invented a new and Improved Method of ManufacturingTufts and Article Derived Therefrom, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description.

In connection with the manufacture of ornamental devices, such as pompons, tufts, tassels, etc, it is a Well appreciated fact thatconsiderable difficulty has been experienced in providing devices ofthis nature in which the strands forming the same would not become loosepresenting an unsightly appearance, or be lost entirely from the tuft.

With this in view, my invention relates to an improved method of formingdevices of this character, as well as the finished article derivedtherefrom, and aims primarily to provide a method of manufacture bymeans of which the fibers of strands will be firmly fixed in place sothat the liability of the objections set forth in the precedingparagraph occurring is entirely eliminated.

A further object of my invention is to provide a method, and device ofthis character, by means, of whichthis article may be rapidlymanufactured at a minimum of cost and labor.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a novel form ofbinder which will more effectively grip upon the strands of fiber ofwhich'the finished article is composed. i r Y Further objects of myinvention will appear in the annexed specification and drawings, whichlatter present practical embodiments of my invention, and in whichFigure 1 illustrates a pom pon comprising I a bundle of fibers, securedtogether by a binding element, located substantially intermediate theextremities of the ends of the fibers.

Fig. 2 is a View similar to Fig. 1, but showing the binding elementpositioned to one side of the center portion of-the fibers.

Fig. 3-is a cross sectionalview of a fin ished pom pon constructed inaccordance with the arrangement of the parts. as has been illustrated inFig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a. view similar to Fig. 3 but corresponding to a position ofthe parts as illustrated i -Fig. 2. I

Fig. 5 illustrates the manner in which the fibers of the bundle, asillustrated in Fig. 2, ma be manipulated to provide a slightly differentform of finishedarticle.

Figs. 6 to 9show various forms of binding elements which may be utilizedto advantage. 'Fig. 10 is a somewhat diagrammatic view of certain of thefibers, showing the arrangement of the same subsequent tobeing'subjected to one of the stepsof the process of manufacture.

Fig. 11 illustrates a pon which may my method, and

Figure 12 shows the length of fibers previous to their having beensevered into bundles.

novel form of pom be constructed according to 1am aware that heretoforepom pons and other devices comprising a bundle of fibers, properlysecured together, have'been produced. In such cases, however, the binderhas merely been wrapped around the bundles of fiber. and the strands offiber at the center of the bundle are not sufficiently held to preventthem from becoming unloosened, and from being pulled out.

According to my invention, I utilize a plurality of parallel strands offibrousmaterial, such as silk, which are primarily subjected to theaction .of a contracting die. This action will result. in thedeformation of the strands adjacent their points of contact with thedie, thus causing what might be termed a merging of the strands one intothe other, adjacent this point. f

This, as may readily be appreciated will result in an inter-engagementof the strands, and it .will be appreciated that the gummy constituentusually found in fibrous materials will exude from the body of thefibers when subjected to the constricting action aforementioned. Thus,this constituent will act as an adhesive to join or cement adjacentfibers, one tothe other, and at the point at which they havebeensubjected to the constricting action- Thus, a group of fibers. areprovided in which all of the same are firmly secured one to the other,as has been illustrated in Fi 10, in which the reference numeral 15indicates the strands of fibrous material, and 16 the point at whichthey havebeen subjected to the pressing action.

' Subsequent tothe accomplishment of this result a bind r .17 gra nyuitable them??? may be brought to encircle the strands at their point ofconstruction 16, as has been indicated. in Fig. 12.

It will also be seen, this latter figure, that thebody of the strands 15may now be'severed along the lines AA; B-B; or C,C to producerespectively a bundle of fibers and finished article, as'has beenillustrated in Figs. 11, 1 and 3; and 2 and 4; respectively. In otherwords, the strands are cut at points to one side of the binder 17intermediate the binders, or at a point slightly to one side of the saidlatter intermediate point.

Conceding that the strands have been out at points intermediate thebinders, as in Fig. 1, it will be seen that the upper half portion 18 ofthe bundle may be opened or flufl'ed out, to produce a substantially'lating the upper and lower half hemispherical ornament, such as hasbeen illustrated inFig. 3, the lower half 19 of the bundle being bentupwardly to a point at which the individual fibers lie in a fiat planearound which latter staples 20 indicated in dotted'lines, may pass tosecure the device properly in position. It will be appreciated that inthis connection, any suitable securing means, in lieu of the staples 20may be and that my invention is in no wise directed to this point.

On the other hand, a pom pon or similar article may be produced bycutting the strands along the lines G-G of Fig. 12, in which event,bundles such as has been illus trated in Fig. 2 are produced. Bymanipuportions 21, and 22 respectively of this bundle in the mannerdescribed in connection with the operation of the article illustrated inFigs. 1 and 3, it will'be seen that a finished article of the appearanceas illustrated in Fig. 4

is produced, which includes a substantially hemispherical form,comprising the upper half portion 21, the longer portion 22 extending ina flat plane and projecting a distance beyond the hemispherical contourof the section 21, thereby presenting the effect of a flange or border,surrounding the hemispherical portion.

A variation from this form of article-may be arrived at by: utilizingthe bundle illustrated in Fig. 2, and subjecting the lower section,'orportion 22 of the same, .to a bending action, beyond that of the fiatplane illus trated in Fig. 4, so that theextremities of the strands ofsection 22 will be brought to .a' point at which they will form acontinuation otthe convex surface produced by the extremities of thefluifed out shorter sec tion 21, thus producing a particularly-maslsiveappearing article, {as in :Fig. '5.

Still :anothrformof article may b e-produced by serving the strandsalong the lines of Fig. .12, .bymeans of which it will be seen,reference being had :to Fig.11,

as has been indicated in that a bodyiportion 23 is provided, forming thebody of the pom pon, the stump 24 extending beyond the binding element17. This stump is now subjected to theaction of hot water or alcohol,resulting in a permanent enlargement of this stump or base portion, butprecluding any possibility of the strands forming the same, from*pulling through the binding element 17. Subsequent to this, a binder ofshellac, glue, cement or any other suitable material is applied to thestump 24, as at 25', which will further anchor the fibers of the tuft toprevent any movement thereof. 7

It will be appreciated that any suitable form of binding element 17 maybe utilized, but with a view 01" providing an eleme nt of thisnaturewhich" will serve with a maximum of efiiciency, to prevent any movementof the individual strands, I conveniently utilize an encirclingagent ofthe nature illustrated in Figs. 6 to 9, all of which, as will be noted,are irregularly shaped, and conveniently formed with inwardly extendingserrations 26 adapted to provide firm interengagement between the fibersand the binding element, thus further enhancing the immovablerelationship of the strands, one with respect to the 0ther.=

Thus summing up my invention, it will be seen'that thesame consists,essentiallyin the utilization of strands of any desiredmaterial, whichstrands lie parallel to each other, and are subjected. to the action ofa to 9 are utilized, although this is not necessarily the case, thebinding. elements illustrated in the figures referred to being merelyadapted to more firmly engagethe fibers by virtue of their irregularshape, and further, by means of the serrations. 7

Subsequent to this procedure, a cutting of the strands at definitepoints, such as the lines suggested,-will result in the formation ofbundles of strands which may be manipu lated to form various types ofporn pons or devices of similar character, and in the instance where thecutis made along the lines T A A' of Fig. 2, the-bundlesthus'providedare preferably subjectedto the action specified in the precedingparagraph to form the finished article illustrated in Fig.6.

Thus I have described a method of forming pom pons and similar articles,which is extremely economical in practice, and by means of which theindividual strands are secured one to the other bya-number-ofdifferentexpedients of providing in aggregate a finished article which shall benovel in appearance, and in which the possibility of the individualstrands becoming loosened is well nigh precluded, or at least reduced toa minimum.

Obviously numerous modifications of structure and procedure mightreadily be resorted to without in the least departing from the spirit ofmy invention, which I claim as:

1. A method of manufacture, consisting in arranging a plurality ofstrands of fibrous material parallel to each other, subjecting saidstrands to the action of a contracting die, whereby to crimp the same,applying binding means to said strands adjacent said point of crimping,and in subsequently cutting sai strands at points between said bindingmeans.

2. A method of manufacture, consisting in arranging a plurality ofstrands of material parallel to each other, subjecting said strands tothe action of a contracting die,

whereby to crimp the same, applying binding means to said strandsadjacent said point of crimping, and in subsequently cutting saidstrands at points slightly toone side of said binding means whereby toprovide a stump, and in subsequently subjecting the stump to the actionof a medium resulting in a swelling of the strands of the same.

3. A method of manufacture, consisting in arranging a plurality ofstrands of ma terial parallel to each other, subjecting said strands tothe action of a contracting die, whereby to crimp the same, applyingbinding means to said strands adjacent said point of crimping, and insubsequently cutting said strands at points slightly to one side of saidbinding means whereby to provide a stump, and in subsequently subjectingthe stump to the action of a medium resulting in a swelling of thestrands of the same, and in applying adhesive to the stump thus formed.

THOMAS A. BOWERS.

